DISCLAIMER: HP belongs to JKR. My intellectual property is the storyline, all new characters, new character development, and new developments. Glorioux
Privet Drive-
"Tuny, where is that blasted freak?" Vernon was sweating profusely, from fear, after finding a message at the door announcing Dumbledore's early evening arrival.
They, the Dursleys, couldn't remember what had happened earlier that day. Their last memory was of moving Harry from the cupboard under the stairs to the deep storage room. It was disgusting; he had thrown up on his clothes and had wet his trousers; they forgot that he had been very sick.
"Vernon, maybe he needs to go to the surgery, he is boiling. I think you went too far this last time." Petunia wrung her hands, her forehead furrowed with worry.
"It was your fault for complaining about him so much. He breaks things; he is a FREAK and another mouth to feed, as if it was my responsibility," Anger was turning Vernon's face purple.
"All I can remember is someone at the door yesterday, then someone else today; both stood by the door and no freak in site," Vernon screamed again.
They had not heard the soft pop by the door. "And who is the freak you cannot find?" The tall long bearded demon was addressing them.
"No one, sir, we w—," Petunia started.
"Dispense me of your babble, where is Harry, your nephew, may I add? The same freak that your husband collects a monthly payment of £4,313.00 for his care, and out of that, £2,111.00, were payment for your care-taking services; a handsome sum I would say. As for the rest, it was meant for his expenses, which should have included a good education, and the costs to bring him up with the decorum due to a son from a good house. I would expect that he be also provided with proper attire, suitable quarters, a nurse, toys, books, and whatever else required. So where is he?" Dumbledore asked.
The Headmaster already knew that Harry wasn't in the house; furthermore, he had already scanned that the entire house looking for him. He had come after Mrs. Figg's Owl him when she had heard. Dursleys were combing the neighborhood for Harry.
Petunia looked surprised, "Vernon, he said £4,313.00; what is wrong here?"
Vernon did not bother to answer, he shrugged his shoulders, "Later, we will talk later."
Petunia realized those were all the bonuses and promotions. And that was not even half, besides she was all too aware of the magnitude of their crime; they had collected such large sums, and she had allowed Vernon to practically kill the child; suddenly, she felt slightly sick. Vernon was not alone, she had done the same by starving him when she left him locked over several days when gone in all those expensive holidays. They were as good as dead.
"Please take me to his room. You can later discuss your marital problems." Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and Snape appeared behind him. Petunia recognized the nasty wizard boy, and she shuddered in fear seeing the now imposing tall wizard, "Severus, please check everyone nook and cranny," and snapped his fingers again. A fierce and very handsome man appeared in the room.
"Scrimgeour, please check around for signs of struggle, blood whatever; and Mrs. Dursley, you go with your old acquaintance," pointing her to Snape who smirked viciously.
Dumbledore appeared disappointed, "To think I trusted you because you wrote me a letter, what a fool I was. We better find Harry at this home, or you better prepared to pay the consequences. Whatever happened to sisterly love?" His eyes misted for an instant remember a little sister long ago.
"Mr. Dursley, would you lead me to Master's Potter's room." Vernon was feeling ill. The sausage he had for lunch was coming back.
"Err, hmm, he shares a room with my son," answered Vernon.
"Interesting, lead the way," Dumbledore demanded, he already had seen that he was lying.
Vernon walked up to the stairs, seemingly on the way to the gallows; Petunia was not fairing much better. She had the feeling that they knew Harry was not here. Furthermore, Petunia was praying that Dudley would not be coming back from having tea with his best friend, two houses down. She didn't want her sweet baby to be afraid.
In Dudley's room, there was only one large bed. Further inspection of the room confirmed there were no Harry's belongings in this room. The next room was a playroom for one child with only one desk. There were no traces of Harry living there either. Dumbledore had a sinking feeling. Someone had taken Harry, but if so, who had? Moreover, where did the lad sleep, inside a cupboard? Of course not, he must be missing something. Or, had these brutes killed him. He needed Harry to kill Voldemort; he knew they were not taken good care of him.
Dumbledore had a sinking feeling. Someone had taken Harry, but if so, who had? Moreover, where did the lad sleep, inside a cupboard? Of course not, he must be missing something. Or, had these brutes killed him. He needed Harry to kill Voldemort; he knew they were not taken good care did the lad sleep, inside a cupboard? Of course not, he must be missing something. Or, had these brutes killed him. He needed Harry to kill Voldemort; he knew they were not taken good care of him, but nothing like this.
He believed a little over 1,000 Galleons, would sweeten the chore; besides, the woman was the auntie, for Merlin's sake. The blood wards were the easiest to cast, and he would have full control over them, but obviously, he had made an error in judgment.
"Albus, come right now." Albus heard the concern in Severus' voice and wasted no time. He Apparated back to the first floor, forgetting about Vernon, who taking advantage of the lapse, stepped to his room, dug under the mattress, took out a flat case, and slipped his large frame out the window. It was no small feat, but Vernon did it. He went down a fire escape ladder that he had kept since ever just for a time like this. He would miss Tunny and would find a way to get her; but for now, he had the key to the car.
The three wizards were appalled at what they found. Under the stairs, behind a front row of coffers and travel cases, there was a little cot; it had a thin mattress, a thin deck, and some old clothes hanging from a wire.
Dumbledore missed a pair of condemning eyes passing judgment on him; yes, Albus was the one at fault.
"Albus this is not all," Scrimgeour guided him. The other room smelled of sickness, and different unpleasant smells, which the couple had undoubtedly tried to remove. With a wave of the wand, the Aurors showed him all the signs of blood around the room.
Dumbledore came by Petunia who was being dragged around by Snape. "Severus, would you do the honors?"
Snape put his hand on her forehead, the memories of the last two days seemed to be whipped out. That was good, he thought, and then refrained an opinion knowing how powerful Albus was. Petunia was screaming, the feeling the invasion of her brain was not gentle, and it made her feel intense pain. Severus was invasive; he moved fast and even looked at very personal memories. Memories of envy and hatred for Lilly made him very sad.
What he saw next made his father's deeds seemed trivial when compared to the cruelty the young child had to endure. At least he had his mother's love and a meal in front of him. This woman had allowed so many acts of cruelty to happen to her own kin; Severus wanted to vomit.
She personally was neglectful and had willfully allowed the cruelty to happen. She complained about the child and locked her self-up while she could hear the cries. He saw her lying to the small boy, telling him that his parents were monsters and drunks who had died in a car accident and that he was freak and deserved nothing. At once, he remembered Lilly, her eyes, he had her eyes, but the face reminded him of James. He had to stop, "The bathroom, where is it?"
Severus ran and emptied his stomach. He was really hoping that there was no afterlife so he would not have to tell Lily what he had seen, and why he had never checked on her son.
Dumbledore had been inside, once he saw Snape's face, and he decided at once; he could not allow the Order to know this. He would blame the Muggles, and he needed to put Dursley in Azkaban. Merlin, he had left the man alone upstairs.
"Scrimgeour, bring the husband," Albus was ordering when the doorbell rang. It was Dudley.
The three wizards left the house sometime later. Albus was furious to have let his guard down allowing the criminal to get away. They cast a compulsion on Petunia to get in touch with them whenever Vernon came around.
Dumbledore had to figure out to find out where Harry was and how to punish the Muggles, or his authority would be challenged. Petunia couldn't leave the perimeter of the house and neither could Dudley. There was nothing else to be done, for now.
Dumbledore had gained a staunch enemy who no longer trusted him. It was his fault for not checking before, and he was going to try to wash his hands. Neither the Auror nor the Professor favored the Headmaster getting his hands on the boy, and hoped he was safe. Severus was going out tonight; he had a date and broadcasted to whoever tried to read his mind.
Friday morning at the Manor.
Sirius was waking up after having nightmares all night long. The sight of Harry had been too much for his weak body, and he fainted. The healer gave him an extra dose of dreamless sleep, but it hadn't worked.
After Grant had checked the teeth of three inmates and whatever was left of Harry's, he gave his recommendations of extractions to curb the infection on the body, Muctis told them he would be bringing a dental healer of great trust, his son-in-law. Snape would be contacted today to get all the required potions. He often came to visit Lucius, and it would not be any different from other weeks.
Sirius wasn't sure where he was when he heard a female voice he recognized. "Sirius, are you awake?"
He opened his eyes, and he saw that Narcissa was there. She looked as pretty as always. Why was she here? He looked at her with visible mistrust.
She laughed, "No need to be like that, I am also glad to see you. You are safe at the Manor." Ah, it was all coming back. She pulled a chair and sat by his side.
"Dear cousin, sorry you had to endure all of this. You were set up. We need you a bit better to discuss the next move. Lucius will be here in a while, and we need to decide. You are all safe here for now. Right now, the ones in the biggest danger are Harry and Rodolphus. Harry is the worst. Nobody knows if he will pull through." She held Sirius' shaking hand.
"Cissy, how could this happen? I don't understand, who was taking care of little Harry?" Sirius' face was hard, his eyes blazing with anger and fever. 'Whoever did that to him must be punished. I will do it myself."
"Sirius, you need to calm down, you cannot go anywhere, you are very sick yourself. If I tell you, do you promise just to listen?"
He nodded but wasn't sure if he would be able to keep the promise. He knew as soon as he was ready, he would be paying a visit to whoever was responsible. He wantedto know why he was here, instead of Bella, Cissy's sister. And why Lestranges and again no Bella, and why was he here amid a Death Eater's family, and why was Remus here? He was still confused and felt the Dementors around him.
"Dumbledore sent Harry to Harry mother's sister. Apparently, the child was living inside a cupboard." Cissy bit her lip and looked the other way, Sirius was crushing her hand.
"Fucking Dumbledore, is he crazy? That woman hated Lilly. I'll kill all those responsible. I need you to know that I didn't kill James or Lilly. Please believe me." Sirius looked demented; he wasn't well, not well at all.
"Cissy, Cissy, is that you?" Rabastan tried to sit up to look at the apparition in front of him. He was also a ghost of the wizard he had been.
Cissy stood up and went by Rab's bed. She sat on the mattress, and Rabastan half sat and embraced her in a tight hug. He started crying like a baby in heart-wrenching sobs, and it broke Cissy's heart. She was ashamed of Bella's badness. Moreover, albeit she knew the brothers were blood supremacists, they would never do the vile things Bella did for her Dark Lord.
Rodolphus was still non-responsive. Rabastan asked, "Cissy, is Dolphus going to be well?"
She choked with emotion and didn't know how to answer. Lucius, Serpens, and Grant stood by the door. Lucius came and put his arms around Cissy, "Shh, love, all is going to be well."
"Good to see you Rabastan; it is good to have you all here. I hope by Sunday we can talk. Meanwhile, you are restrained to the sleeping areas. We don't know if the escape will be reported, we don't think it will. I will explain to you all later. As far as the Prison officials are concerned, you are all still there. My wife and I are pleased to have you here."
He stood up with Grant and Serpens to greet Muctis Jr.
The healer had just woken up and was coming from the bathroom. "Nice tub, big enough for a family. Oh, good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Granger," he came around and shook hands.
"Sirius Black, my wife's cousin, and Rabastan Lestrange, a dear family friend, here are Serpens Malfoy, my great-great-grandfather and my future in-law. I will explain later. And yes, he is a Muggle, or so it seems."
Lucius couldn't take his eyes away from Cissy's hands, which still held Rabastan's. However, the peace in the younger wizard's eyes made his eyes water. He was grateful for how much good had come out of Draco finding his little mate.
"The three adult women will be taking turns with you all. Muctis feels you can all benefit from a witch's hand, and maybe the children can come and visit when Dolphus is better."
Lucius's guts were twisted. He didn't want Cissy here with the Lestranges. He knew that Dolphus still loved Cissy and had never stopped. He wanted them gone, far away, to be with their parents, but that might be dangerous. Grant had an idea worth exploring.
Sirius looked at the Muggle; his brain registered something similar to Rabastan's. He seemed very familiar, but I couldn't figure out who he resembled. "Grant, you look so familiar," his eyes closed from the effort, and Rabastan had already fallen asleep. Thallia stayed for the first shift so Muctis Jr. could go home once his father returned.
Lucius held Cissy with his arm wrapped around her waist. She hadn't stopped crying since Rabastan closed his eyes. She was looking at the wasted wizards, especially at Rodolphus. At that same moment, Lucius remembered meeting Bella and the day he got the accursed Dark Mark, which were the worst times in his life. During both times, he had known Bella would destroy everything within her path.
Next, they went to see the little wizard; the hallway was very quiet. They came to the room and found Harry, Draco, and Mimi under the blankets. Remus had fallen asleep at the foot of the bed. They smiled, "Lazybones, it is time to get up." Jeanie called the children.
In less than five seconds, Draco was up and jumped onto his daddy's arms. Mimi was going to do the same with Grant, when she saw Harry looking forlorn, she sat on the bed and held his hand.
"Arry, my daddy can be your daddy too, and Traco will loan you his too, right Daddy and Daddy Lushus?" Hermione asked.
"He isn't your daddy, he is mine, but I will loan it to you if you loan me yours," Draco stated, his brows knitted, he wasn't good at sharing not even with Mimi, no yet, though Grant knew some great games; it was a fair trade.
Lucius felt something melting inside, he already saw Mimi as his little girl, and this just made it better. Narcissa's smiled, "You may call me mommy Cissy if you want." Grant and Jeanie were looking at Harry whose lip was stuck out.
"Think of all of us as your family and call us whatever you wish," Jeanie volunteered and sat by the battered little boy, who sat up with a great effort to receive the first big hug he remembered from an adult woman. Last night Remy hugged him. This must be a good dream.
Harry voice shook; he still had a high fever and was rather weak. It was the love and the children, contributing to a miraculous recovery, "Will you be sending me back to the Durslys?" Jeanie felt Harry tremble, scared.
A/N Thanks to the readers who take their time to review. Hope you are liking it. Be well!